Alabama Hostage Standoff Ends, Young Boy Safe

A law enforcement official says a 5-year-old has been safely released after a week long standoff between police and the boy's abductor.

The law enforcement official briefed on the situation said Monday that Jim Dykes, the man who abducted the boy from a school bus after fatally shooting the bus driver, is dead.

Officials say they stormed a bunker in Alabama to rescue a 5-year-old child being held hostage there after his abductor was seen with a gun.

Steve Richardson with the FBI's office in Mobile said at a news conference Monday afternoon that negotiations deteriorated and that 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes had been seen with a gun. At that point, officers believed the child was in imminent danger. Officers entered the bunker just after 3 p.m. CST

It was not immediately clear how Dykes died.

Earlier Monday, officials had said they had been sending food and medicine to Dykes and the boy in the bunker.

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